Things have gone from bad to worse for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were already having a hard time gelling together after spending time apart living their own lives. Since they’ve been back together in New York City life has not been easy whatsoever. The city they once loved has turned against them as the Foot Clan seem to be in complete control. Then things took a greater turn when Donatello decided to turn himself in. How will things go from there? Well, we got the chance to check out an early copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #9 from IDW Publishing. Find out how things go with our advance review.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Juan Ferreyra
Letterer: Shawn Lee
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #9 SOLICITATION
“Already weakened, weary, and a little deranged, poor Donatello has now been captured by the Foot Clan! The remaining Turtle boys make a plan for an all-out war against Karai, but are forced to think twice when they hear the voice of reason… coming from the body of a dead rat?” – Skybound & Image Comics
REVIEW
Things continue to not go the way the Hamato Clan would like in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #9. That is unsurprising given how they continue to fight within the family as much as they are the Foot Clan. The lack of cohesion between Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo creates so many fascinating directions for each character that you can’t help but be engrossed by the narrative.
The opening of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #9 is an example of what has made Jason Aaron’s run so great thus far. He knows exactly what fans want to see when it comes to the Turtles in action. The opening three pages are possibly the best action choreography that we’ve seen Michelangelo drive solo. Juan Ferreyra really nails how far Michelangelo has come as his experience with how smooth he moves shines.
At the same time, this opening is as when Michelangelo ends up meeting up with Raphael you are reminded how out of sync the Hamato Clan are. There is no being on the same page anymore. Their once strong family unit has been broken. They are now four individuals trying to navigate the new status quo in New York City.
Because of this we are seeing more of the individuality each of the Turtles have gained in their time away from one another. While the series is named Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles these four are no longer teenagers. They’ve entered adulthood and are being portrayed. That’s made their respective personalities even more different than just some key character traits. Which gets back to how even when we see them together as a group, they are fighting as a team, instead as individuals fighting the same enemy.
This creates great moments for Ferreyra’s artwork to shine during both the action and heavy dialogue scenes. He really captures how far apart the Turtles have grown during the time gap. Nine issues is not enough to get the well oiled Hamato Clan machine back to their top tier selves. That all comes through in the characters’ facial reactions and way they fight.
This issue also continues to do a good job developing District Attorney Hale as a multi-layered character. Aaron makes sure to balance giving greater depth to the character without getting him away from being a villain. Each thing we learn about his character motivation just makes his actions clearer how his own choices are what’s impacted him. How Hale denies that and pushes that to focus on making mutants like the Turtles the enemy for the city a well-developed villain to focus during this intro period.
Through all the strong character development the most interesting character may be April O’Neil. Aaron isn’t giving her much page time yet. But every time we see her there is more intrigue into what she has planned. That is no different with what we see her doing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There is a sense of something important being built around April’s character arc. What that is has my attention.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #9 may be the most intense issue of this series thus far. That is saying a lot given what happened in each of the previous eight issues. Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra nail how much of an emotional and physical toll each of the members the Hamato Clan has been through. It all culminates in a way that you feel even more invested in where things go next. Creating that feeling wanting to read what comes next right away is a testament to this being one of the best comic books on the market right now.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
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